Photographer in national final

A young photographer from Ampthill has come third in a national photography competition run by the Rotary Club of Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI).

Edith Wright, aged 13, a pupil at Alameda Middle School, first won the local competition run by Ampthill and District Rotary Club in January, with her photo of Ampthill town centre by moonlight.

The Ampthill club sponsored Edith’s entry through a district competition which she won, before coming third in the national final.

The panel for this year’s competition included professionals and photography experts from the fields of journalism, education and business, all of who were impressed by the entries.

The competition had the theme “Our World is Beautiful”, aimed to improve the skills of young people aged seven to 17 and inspire the entrants to find inspiration from the world around them.

Ampthill Rotary president Trevor Nash said: “This was the first year we ran this competition, and we were delighted with the number and quality of entries.

“Although photography is one of the visual arts, schools are not always able to promote this art form, and we hope our club has encouraged young people to continue to develop their skills.

“We are delighted Edith did so well in the national competition – she has genuine talent.”

Elizabeth Salisbury, subject leader for art and design at Alameda, said: “We were absolutely delighted when our school swept the board in the junior and intermediate categories in the local competition, and this is a great achievement for Edith to go on to win third prize in the national. I’m sure this will have encouraged more entries next year!”

The Rotary Young Photographer competition is open to any young person in full time education between the ages of seven and 17.

The theme for next year’s competition is “Reflection” and Ampthill and District Rotary Club invite entries from children who live in the area.

Information about the competition will be posted on the club’s website at www.ampthillrotary.org in the autumn.